Article: Black Church Fires

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                       The Burning of the Black Churches
                                   By Hugh B. Price
                                       President
                             National Urban League

     The burning of the black churches is an absolute outrage and must be
stopped immediately.
     Some three dozen black churches have been burned in the last 18 months.
     Those committing these cowardly crimes must be brought to justice; this
must be condemned by all Americans.
     The National Urban League applauds President Clinton for the steps he
has announced to end the burning of black churches in the south.
     President Clinton met with the governors of the southern states in a
bipartisan effort to stop the burnings.  He said: "it is clear that racial
hostility is the driving force behind a number of these incidents."
     Prior to this meeting President Clinton announced the creation of a task
force of over 200 federal agents to work on the case; protect remaining
churches from arsonists; he supported bipartisan legislation to make it
easier to bring federal prosecutions against those who attack houses of
worship; and he introduced a new toll-free number that is now available 24
hours a day, seven days a week, for those who have information about the
fires; 1-888-ATF-FIRE.
     Ironically, if the goal of the arsonist was to stoke racial tension,
they unwittingly have had the opposite effect -- instantly galvanizing and
uniting people across color lines against these unspeakable crimes.
     Coalitions from the 1960s have been activated -- Black church leaders,
the Christian Coalition, the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, the National
Urban League and other groups have risen up to denounce these assaults and
demand vigorous investigation and prosecution.
     The Urban League affiliates in the south and across the country have
joined with other community groups to protect remaining black churches with
night watches and by facilitating rewards.  They have mobilized their
communities, called for political action, collected funds and begun
rebuilding.
     The burnings are part of a broader pattern of racism, intolerance and
alienation and we must continually learn how to deal effectively with such
attitudes.
     I believe the Oklahoma City bombing, the Freemen's stand-off in Montana
and the church burnings are fueled by the incendiary rhetoric on talk radio,
the wedge politics practiced by cynical candidates for office and the
scapegoating of minorities and immigrants. These are suicidal threats to
America's social cohesion.
     By the middle of the next century, our nation's population will be half
white and half minority.
     We'll either move forward together as the most robust, multi-ethnic and
inclusive democracy in the history of humankind - or we'll sink together into
the muck and mire of intolerance and hatred.
     It's our choice and the choice will be made on our watch.
     The National Urban League asks all Americans to pull together to protect
religious freedom; and to protect the Black Church that has been so
instrumental in family worship, self-help, and community life.

     25 TBE 6/21/96 TO BE EQUAL 500 E. 62nd St. NY, NY 10021


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